


I Will Wait For You

by tostormorfire



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: (That's Not How It Really Works Though), Angst, Between Seasons/Series, But In the Original Timeline Barry Was Just Gone, F/M, Heavy Angst, One Shot, The Timeline Changed, Where Barry Never Came Back To Iris' Timeline, Whump, Will He Ever Come Back?, two shot?, westallen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7846036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tostormorfire/pseuds/tostormorfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Wherever you need to go, whatever you need to do, do it. And when you get back, I'll be here."<br/>"Okay."<br/>"I love you, Barry."<br/>"I love you too. And, I always will. Which is why... I'm so sorry, Iris. But I have to do this."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

That night, Barry never came home. Everyone left; but when Iris opened the door to where the two of them had been sitting hours ago, there was not a trace of the Scarlet Speedster. She told him to go where he needed. She let him go, in hopes that he'd one day return to her. Words were never spoken in their conversation, but deep down, Iris knew where he had gone.

That night, Iris didn't sleep. She sat there, in their home, replaying their last talk over and over in her head.

Joe knew. Somehow, he knew Iris was hurting. He knew Barry was gone. But he didn't know... he was hurting too.

But he understood. That's why, when he found her sitting outside, on the porch step, he made the hot cocoa. He wrapped Iris in a blanket that was lying on the couch, just like after she had nightmares as a kid. They talked for hours. It was about the most random of topics; anything to get rid of the idea that there was an empty space next to them, a space where Barry would sit. 

But at 2 AM, it all came crashing down. Iris had a knot in her throat that she couldn't get rid of. "What if he never comes back, Dad? What if... he's happy with his new life and doesn't  _want_ to come back?" Tears stung at Iris' eyes. "Will he ever forget about us? What if we forget about him?"

Joe thought for a moment. He kissed the top of Iris' head. "We just have to have faith, baby girl. But he'll come back." Joe laughed a teary chuckle. "After all... we're family."

And so they waited.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into six months.

Six months.

Central City got used to not having the Flash around. Caitlin and Cisco tried to keep up STAR Labs; they did. But eventually, they had to adjust. They had to get new jobs. With Barry officially declared missing after not showing up to work for weeks, STAR Labs was handed over to the city. They were going to rebuild it into an aquarium.

Legally, Barry was missing. People had no idea where he was, and when you're gone for half a year, people tend to worry.

Captain Singh offered many times to write up a missing persons report to Joe, but he always insisted Barry went off to vacation. 

No one believed him.

But out of respect for Barry (and Joe), Barry was not terminated and his career remained.

Iris almost got fired several times from CCPN for a lack of news from the Flash. With her lack of job security and the fact that Iris was missing her best friend, it was safe to say that Iris was having a rotten summer.

Everyday, Iris felt hollow on the inside. She felt like her heart was getting ripped to shreds. Many nights, she cried herself to sleep. Unfortunately, she pushed Joe away, and their relationship became more distant. It hurt to have family dinners and movie nights if Barry wasn't there.

And so, she waited.

Six months.

Six months until he returned home.


	2. You Came Home

"I will wait for you."

Iris waited. She waited for so long. Every morning, she woke up without seeing his brilliant smile. It hurt to know that he chose his past over what could have been his future. It hurt that he chose his family over someone who could have been.

And the worst part of it all, she thinks, is that she almost got used to not having him around.

It was just one of those days.

It hurt to wake up. It hurt to get out of bed, and go about her daily life when he wasn't standing next to her.

It physically hurt, like all the weight of the world was crushing down against her shoulders, like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel the tips of her fingers, and in the end, she just felt numb.

She didn't know what to feel. She felt like her brain was going into overdrive, like there were too many feelings and too many thoughts in her head so all she could do was go about her day like it was any other day, any other heartbreaking, miserable, numb, day.

It's not like she didn't have good moments. She wasn't a girl who couldn't function without having a boy next to her. She could laugh, and she did have genuinely enjoyable times in the last sixth months.

But without Barry Allen? I don't know.

Before she met him, everything was black and white. After that first word, that first glance, it was like her world exploded into color, like life just made sense.

Iris was lost deep in thought when she got jolted out of her reverie by the buzzing of a phone call.

_"I... Iris?"_ a garbled voice came through the phone.  _"They'll catch... being chased... find... Central City... please... soon... I'm home."_  The phone clicked, and the call ended.

Everything seemed muted. The bustling around of Central City Picture News became a drone, and all Iris could hear was the pumping of blood through her head.

Then, everything came flooding into all five of her senses. She felt warmth course through her veins.

The voice was unmistakable. It was Barry Allen.

She called everyone she knew. Felicity, Cisco, CCPD, and Joe were all on the case. Her work was left forgotten on her desk, the computer dimly lit, and the desk was abandoned.

Her memory of this period was choppy. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but she did not remember anything until the point where she got him back.

His breathing was labored. His face was caked with grime and dirt, and his hair was damp from sweat. 

He was crumpled into her arms; out of exhaustion, maybe. He smelled like musk. He smelled like Barry Allen, and that was all that mattered to her.

_"Iris..."_  he whispered, breathing heavily.  _"My star journalist."_

Kneeling on the ground holding onto each other for dear life, he was Barry Allen, she was Iris West, and together they made up the universe.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments on whether this should be a two shot? That would be cool, because then I could write about the moment Barry comes back :D
> 
> Comments and kudos everyone! Thanks for reading :)


End file.
